Four car break-ins have been reported at Mesa College this holiday season, all occurring within 17 days of each other. Three of these crimes occurred in the parking structure on the same level.

All the cars targeted were Hondas; three were Civics and one was an Accord. The last break-in occurred in Parking Lot #1 on Nov. 19, the last day of school before the Thanksgiving break.

Lt. Jack Doherty of the Mesa College Police Department said that there have been issues on other campuses, with incidences occurring at City College as well.

“It is very common to see break-ins during the holidays,” Doherty said. “We have sent extra police officers to the parking lots to keep a watch on the cars.”

Due to the commonalities between break-ins at Mesa and City Colleges, it is suspected that an organized group is committing these crimes.

“The break-ins occurred in waves, meaning there were multiple occurrences in a short time,” Doherty said. “We infer from that that a group of about two or three individuals is targeting the area.”

For each case at Mesa, no signs of forced entry were found, suggesting the individuals used a slim jim to get in or had a master key.

There has been no hard evidence of an organized crime ring, nor have there been any leads in suspects.

“Though we are back from Thanksgiving break, we are still in the holiday season, so I expect to see a few more break-ins before Christmas,” Doherty said.